Most medical devices are made from metals, ceramics, or polymeric materials. However, these materials are hydrophobic, non-conformal, and non-slippery, and thereby may cause thrombus formation, inflammation, or other injuries to mucous membranes during use or operation. Thus, the issue of biocompatibility is a critical concern for manufacturers of medical devices, particularly medical implants. In order to function properly and safely, medical devices are usually coated with one or more layers of biocompatible materials. The coatings on these medical devices may, in some instances, be used to deliver therapeutic and pharmaceutical agents.
Since medical devices, particularly implantable medical devices, are intended for prolonged use and directly interface with body tissues, body fluids, electrolytes, proteins, enzymes, lipids, and other biological molecules, the coating materials for medical devices must meet stringent biological and physical requirements. These requirements, as a minimum, include the following: (1) the coatings must be hydrophilic and lubricous when in contact with body tissue, and thereby increase patient comfort during operation and enhance the maneuverability of the medical device; (2) the coatings must be flexible and elastic, so they conform to the biological structure without inducing detrimental stress; (3) the coatings must be hemocompatible, and thereby reduce or avoid formation of thrombus or emboli; (4) the coatings must be chemically inert to body tissue and body fluids; and (5) the coatings must be mechanically durable and not crack when formed on medical devices. If the coatings are impregnated with pharmaceutical or therapeutic agents, it is typically required that the coatings and the formation thereof are compatible with the pharmaceutical or therapeutic agents. If the coatings are used as coatings and the underlying basecoats are impregnated with pharmaceutical or therapeutic agents, it is further required that the coating and the formation thereof must be compatible with the basecoat and the pharmaceutical or therapeutic agents impregnated therein; and the coating must allow the pharmaceutical or therapeutic agents to permeate therethrough. It is also desirable that the coating functions as a physical barrier, a chemical barrier, or a combination thereof to control the elution of the pharmaceutical or therapeutic agents in the underlying basecoat.
In order to combine the desired properties of different polymeric materials, the conventional coating composition for commercial drug eluting stents used a polymer blend, i.e., physical mixture, of poly ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVAc) and poly butyl methacrylate (BMA). However, one disadvantage of this conventional coating is the phase separation of the polymer blend, which can be detrimental to the performance of the coating and the stability of drugs impregnated therein.
Another coating composition of the prior art comprises a supporting polymer and a hydrophilic polymer, wherein the supporting polymer contains functional moieties capable of undergoing crosslinking reactions and the hydrophilic polymer is associated with the supporting polymer (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,238,799). However, the preparation of this prior art coating composition employs chemical crosslinking reactions and a high temperature curing process, which are not compatible with a drug-containing coating.
The prior art also uses a coating composition formed by the gas phase or plasma polymerization of a gas comprising monomers of polyethylene glycol vinyl ether compounds (see, for example, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0113477). However, the polymer prepared through the plasma process has poorly defined molecular weight and a large polydispersity. The plasma laid polymers of low molecular weight have limited mechanical durability. Further, plasma treatment can penetrate through the underlying basecoat and damage the drug content therein. Another problem with this prior art approach is that the free radicals or other high energy species generated in the plasma process may persist in the coating and cause drug content loss in the basecoat over time.
To decrease thrombosis caused by the use of medical devices, the prior art also modifies the coatings of medical devices via conjugating, i.e., covalently bonding, an antithrombotic agent (e.g., heparin) to the coatings (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,493 and www.surmodics.com). Although this approach may produce a coating with excellent antithrombotic property, the prior art conjugation methods employ complex preparation processes and produce various by-products that may cause degradation of the antithrombotic agent in the coating.
Thus, there remains a need for a polymeric material and a coating composition that can satisfy the stringent requirements, as described above, for applying on at least one surface of a medical device and can be prepared through a process that is compatible with the pharmaceutical or therapeutic agents physically or chemically impregnated in the coatings.